Poor Jason Anderson—well, not really, he’s doing fine. But seriously, he built such a giant points lead so early that the buzz on “OMG! Anderson is amazing and I think he’s going to win this title!” passed too quickly. Based on his performance, this season should be a 17-round referendum on misjudging Anderson’s chances before the season. A 17-round celebration of a young talent “maturing” and “putting the puzzle pieces” together. A 17-round think tank about Anderson’s place in history.

Instead, it just reads like a foregone conclusion. When he was challenged, he was great, and that generated considerable buzz. The Oakland Supercross was straight fire. A few more hero rides like that would have cemented his status, but he didn’t need those, because second in the points became a disease and a series of riders went out injured. Anderson’s lead turned gigantic. Now, no one goes to the stadium on Saturday wondering what Anderson will do. They don’t even wonder if Anderson can hang on. They don’t even need to think about Anderson or the championship at all! Anything can happen and this title actually is not guaranteed, but no one, no one, is walking into the building honestly wondering, “Hmm, I wonder who is going to win the title this year?”

It’s not like last year, where you had Dungey/Tomac debates on the brain every single week. You just had to keep thinking about them, trying to picture which would wear the crown. Even in 2015, when Dungey was reestablishing himself at the top of the food chain, he didn’t actually get a win and establish control until round five. As he started inching away, it led to weekly discussions on Dungey’s rejuvenation. Was it the new KTM? Was it Aldon Baker’s program? Was it Ryan Villopoto leaving? What was the difference? How good was he now? All of these questions/discussions/debates meant that Dungey got all this attention. The limelight lasted all year.

Anderson is operating in the shadows. His giant points lead forces him to. He doesn’t need hero rides like Oakland anymore. His performance in Indy was amazing, coming from 21st to fourth, but it wasn’t like those final few positions made a giant difference. Anderson could have finished second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth in Indy, and it would not have made a dramatic difference. All he needed to do was not completely blow it. That’s the mission—avoid drama, avoid controversy, avoid attention. Go stealth, get some points, and get out.

Anderson doesn’t need sympathy for this. If he wins this title, the mega bonus check will cash, Husqvarna will celebrate, and everyone involved will be thrilled. It’s just a little unfortunate that he won’t quite get his due, because he ended up having too big of a points lead too soon. By all indications, Anderson was ready to go to war this season, pull out a few more Oakland rides, and set the world on fire. We would have remembered those performances forever. Instead, we’re already remembering this season as if it’s already over.